"We presented the Pittman-Krause Dot Cent nine years ago and are
now ready to help write a new chapter for this famous coin," said
Warren Tucker, Vice President of World Coins at Heritage. "It's
being offered as part of the excellent Nikita Collection of
Canadian Coins, where it went after Heritage auctioned it off
from The Chet Krause Collection in 2004."

While the Dot Cent is the star of the auction, collectors will
find international numismatic treasures from all over the world,
and from across the epochs, to satisfy most every collecting
taste.

"Our CICF auction has become quite an extraordinary event, with
a broad range of numismatic interests, in a relatively short amount
of time," said Cristiano Bierrenbach, Vice President of
International Numismatics at Heritage, "due to the hard work of the
team at Heritage, the foresight of our consignors and the
enthusiasm of collectors. From Goetz medal dies, to Ancients,
European, Latin America and beyond, this auction offers more than
5,800 lots that will appeal to every taste in the hobby."

An exceedingly rare Nicholas
I platinum 12 Roubles 1835 CПБ Bitkin 44 (R3), Fr-158, AU55 NGC
(estimate: $80,000+) is one of the coins creating a significant
amount of pre-auction buzz. The minting of platinum 12 Roubles
began in 1830 and ended in 1845 when all platinum coins were
recalled and melted. Very few survived of the original mintage,
which is particularly noteworthy for the 12 Roubles, as it had a
relatively tiny mintage of just 127 pieces.

"This is simply and outstanding Dobra from the Bahia Mint and an
incredibly rare coin," said Bierrenbach. "1729 is the rarest of the
three dates of these coins and an extremely elusive issue overall.
Heritage has only sold one of these before, and it was an
uncertified example. Expect spirited bidding on this piece."

The Ancient coins section of the auction features an impressive
array of historic coins, as collectors have come to expect,
including a superlative Chalcidian
League Tetradrachm, circa 390 BC, from the short-lived
defensive coalition of the free cities of the Chalcidice in ancient
Greece, who banded together to ward off Athenian and Macedonian
imperialism of the time. The coalition fell to Macedon on 348 BC
and now, more than 2,360 years later, a coin from the time will
bring more than $12,000 at auction.

Some coins are so important that they transcend all collecting
boundaries and become cherished treasures to numismatists,
connoisseurs of art, and students of history alike. The 1783 Nova
Constellatio patterns are such coins. Heritage Auctions is pleased
to offer the unique Type Two 1783 quint from the collection of
Walter Perschke, the first time this coin has been offered at
public auction since its appearance in the Garrett Collection sale
34 years ago. This coin, graded AU53, will appear in Platinum Night
in our 2013 April 24 - 28 CSNS US Coin Signature
Auction in Chicago.

The value of any Nova Constellatio pattern is almost impossible
to calculate. There are no meaningful prices realized to go by,
since none of the coins has been auctioned since the Garrett sale
in 1979. They are essentially priceless as, once the opportunity to
purchase one of them passes, no amount of money can secure a
replacement. John Ford, an expert on pre-federal American coinage,
considered his set of Nova Constellatio patterns the most important
items in his famous collection. When the previously unknown copper
"five" first surfaced in the late 1970s, it was offered to a
wealthy collector who asked Ford for advice, because the price
seemed so high. Caught in an agonizing conflict of interest,
between his desire to own the coin himself and his obligation to
give his client an honest assessment, Ford replied, "Just buy it —
whatever it takes — buy it!"

Seven examples of the Nova Constellatio patterns survive today,
one mark, one Type One quint, one Type Two quint, three 100-unit
cents, or bits, one of which has a plain edge, and a single copper
five. No specimens of the proposed gold 10,000-unit piece or the
copper eight have ever been found, and it seems unlikely that any
were ever struck. Of the seven surviving coins, six of them exhibit
the same devices:

Obverse: The All-Seeing Eye in a glory of rays at the
center with 13 stars and NOVA CONSTELLATIO around.Reverse: U.S (no stop after S) and denomination enclosed by
an olive wreath at the center with LIBERTAS JUSTITIA and the date
1783 around.Edge: Twin olive leaf design, except for the copper five and
one of the bits, which have plain edges.

The Type Two quint features the same reverse as the Type One,
but the obverse is different, as it lacks the NOVA CONSTELLATIO
inscription and the other devices have different styling.

Gouverneur Morris, assistant superintendent of commerce for the
Confederation of American States, conceived the Nova Constellatio
patterns in 1781 as the first proposed monetary system for the
newly independent country. As Walter Breen said, it was "at once
the most ingenious and the most cumbersome coinage system ever
devised in Western Civilization." At that time, each of the 13
original Colonies acted as an independent economic entity, and
rates of exchange differed from place to place. A Spanish milled
dollar, or piece of eight, was valued at five shillings in Georgia
and at eight shillings in New York and North Carolina, for example.
To complicate matters, the only coins available to the Colonists up
until that time were a motley mix of English, Spanish, and French
issues, with an equally confusing mix of paper money issued by
various banks and government entities. This made interstate
commerce extremely complicated. The need for a standard federal
medium of exchange was obvious to everyone involved in commerce and
government.

Gouverneur Morris discovered that 1,440 was a magic number for
12 of the 13 different monetary systems in use throughout the
country. By making his basic unit, or mill, equal to 1/1,440th of a
Spanish milled dollar, Morris could express prices for any item in
terms of the monetary units currently employed by 12 of the 13
states in a corresponding number of federal units without resorting
to fractions. Ten federal units would equal one penny in
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, 15 units would
equal one penny in Georgia, 24 units would equal one penny in New
York and North Carolina, and 32 units would equal one penny in New
Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Virginia.
Only South Carolina remained unreconciled, where slightly more than
3.6973 units would equal one penny. Morris decided that 48 units
would equal 13 pence in South Carolina units, close enough for his
purposes.

Accordingly, Morris decided to make his basic monetary unit
equivalent to 1/1,440th of a Spanish milled dollar. Of course, even
if the coin were made of base metal, a coin that contained only
that tiny intrinsic value would be too small for practical use, so
Morris kept the unit as an abstract concept. The smallest coin
actually envisioned in his system was a copper five-unit piece;
other denominations included an eight-unit copper coin, a 100-unit
silver piece, known as the cent or bit, a 500-unit silver quint, a
1,000-unit silver mark, and, eventually, a 10,000-unit gold
piece.

Gouverneur Morris submitted his innovative plan for the new
monetary system in early 1782, by which time the first peace
negotiations were being considered. The quint represents the basis
of a new monetary system, not only in America, but also in the
world. Morris sent his "patterns" to the central government to
begin the process of instituting an entirely new coinage and
monetary system. His design was not ultimately adopted but, more
importantly, the decimal system that he advocated was -- a new
system for the New World. Morris was making a statement to the
world that things were different in this new country called
America.

It is one of the turning points in American history that we
adopted an abstruse decimal system of money and coinage that had
few precedents (Peter the Great of Russia instituted a system of
100 kopecks to the ruble beginning in the early 1700s). The quint
was the forerunner for the decimal system of American dollars and
all subsequent American coinage. America was making a declaration
to the world that it was taking its place among sovereign nations
and minting its own coinage in a decimal system that was uniquely
American.

The minting of the quint was a milestone and turning point from
which there was no return. It became the basis of a new currency
which would evolve into the use of the dollar in the New World.
America could have easily adopted the system of the French, our
allies, or the system of the British to help heal the wounds of the
war and appease remaining loyalists. The wisdom of the Founding
Fathers and the impact on our economic system of a decimal monetary
system is ultimately more important than the specific design of
that coinage.

Most of the rest of the world would follow suit with a
decimal-based monetary system, if only centuries later. The quint
and the other Nova Constellatio patterns remain as tangible
reminders of the most important period in the history of our
country.

The coin offered here is a delightful example of 18th century
coinage. The prooflike surfaces show only minor signs of contact.
The moderately reflective surfaces are blanketed in attractive
shades of lavender and golden-tan toning that adds considerably to
the strong visual appeal. The design elements are sharply defined
throughout, and the devices retain almost all original design
detail, despite the slightest touch of wear on the high points. A
few stray surface marks are evident, none unduly distracting. Some
barely visible pinscratches above US were interpreted by Walter
Breen to read 2 Dec, but they are indecipherable to the present
cataloger. The reverse shows full dentilation around but the
obverse is slightly off-center, the dentils merging with the rim in
some areas. There is a planchet fissure from the dentils through I
of LIBERTAS and the wreath to U. A tiny surface flaw shows above
the stop before the date, giving it the appearance of a colon
rather than a period. Another, smaller planchet fissure runs from
this defect to the top of the 1 in the date. A short die scratch
connects the bottom of L and I in LIBERTAS. Few coins of the 18th
century were as well-made and fewer still have been so
well-preserved.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of this lot. Walter
Breen, an acknowledged expert on early proof coinage, believed this
coin was struck in proof format, one of the earliest U.S. proofs on
record and an attractive specimen of the coiner's art in any
context. The Nova Constellatio patterns were struck by personnel
hired by the U.S. government, acting on instructions from
Congressional representatives. The coins represent the prototypes
for the first system of American coinage ever conceived. They have
serious claims to being the first U.S. pattern coins although they
were struck under the authority of the Articles of Confederation,
before the Constitution was written. This Type Two quint is unique,
the ultimate in absolute rarity. It has been off the market for 34
years. Its combination of historic importance, high quality, and
absolute rarity can be matched by few issues in any category of
American numismatics. The discerning collector will heed the advice
of John Ford and acquire this coin at any cost.

Attention Kindle owners! For a limited-time only, the latest
edition of Heritage Auctions' The Collector's Handbook is
available as a free Kindle eBook on Amazon.com.
Recently updated to reflect the latest changes to the tax code,
it's the book no collector or collector's heir should be
without.

If you're looking for those special items for your collection,
and would like to be automatically notified when we have one in
inventory or in auction, MyWantlist is for you.

Instead of you having to search for specific items every time
you visit the site, MyWantlist works by saving the individual
searches that you might perform every time you look for coins in
our inventory or auction.

MyWantlist can be reached from any Heritage home page, or by
going through the MyHeritage tab on any page on our site and clicking on
"View/Edit Wantlists". You will be taken to the Wantlist options
for the Heritage site you are currently on; you can change which
Heritage venue you wish to save searches for by choosing the venue
from the "View MyWantlist in:" drop-down menu and clicking
"Go".

When you first start using this feature, MyWantlist will look
something like this:

You can add new searches based on five factors - the category
(which generally corresponds to a type for US coins or a country
for world coins), a keyword such as the date, the grading service
if any, the low grade, and the high grade. If you want to save a
search for any Shield Nickel, in the drop-down box marked "All",
choose Shield Nickels. You will not need to use a keyword in this
case, and the default search looks for coins from any grading
service in any grade, so all you will need to do is click on the
"Add New Item" button and you're done.

If you wish to add a search for circulated 1886 Liberty Nickels,
the procedure would be similar. Here you would enter the
denomination "Liberty Nickels", the keyword 1886, and the high
grade of AU58 in the drop-down box marked "To Grade". Again, you
need only click on the "Add New Item" button and you're done.

You can also look for other, more general items through this
feature. For instance, if you are looking for top 100 VAM varieties
of Morgan Dollars, choose Morgan Dollars as your denomination and
enter the keyword "Top 100".

Heritage Auctions is seeking a talented numismatist with a broad
range of expertise to join our new S.F. office located in Jackson
Square. If you have a good working knowledge base of U S. coins and
currency and are comfortable dealing with the public, we have an
opening for a permanent position as a buyer in our San Francisco
office. Duties will include dealing with walk-in clients,
evaluating and purchasing coins and currency, working local coin
shows, and accepting Auction consignments. Pay will be commensurate
with numismatic experience.

When you win any lot worth with a hammer price of $1,000 or more
(or $2,500 for Art and Nature & Science lots), you will receive
a coupon that entitles you (or your heirs) to re-consign that lot
to Heritage at a reduced seller's commission. Selling through
Heritage is a convenient and hassle free way to maximize your
return (find out why). Maybe you'll need to
make room in your collection for something better, perhaps your
collecting tastes will change, or maybe it will be your heirs that
benefit; but be sure to save the coupon, which could be worth
hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Coins: 0% Seller's Commission for all items $1K or
more.

Comics: 50% of the usual Seller's Commission for all
items between $1K & $10K, and 0% for items $10K and over.

All Other Categories: 50% of the usual Seller's
Commission for everything else over $1K ($2,500 for Art &
Natural History).

As the fastest growing American-based auction house, financially
rock-solid Heritage Auctions continues to grow and seek the best
talent in the industry. If you are a specialist or have strong
general collectibles knowledge, we want to hear from you. These
specialists will, in some cases, head new departments and in others
will enhance existing department expertise. We have positions open
at our headquarters in Dallas as well as at our new
state-of-the-art galleries in prime locations in both Midtown
Manhattan and Beverly Hills.

Heritage is seeking to hire the world's best specialists in
the following categories:

Asian Art Specialist: Beverly Hills

Coin Buyer: San Francisco

European Art Specialist: New York

European Comic Art Specialist: Dallas, Paris

Firearms Specialist: Dallas

Modern & Contemporary Art Specialist: Beverly Hills,
New York

Timepiece Specialist: Beverly Hills, New York

Trust & Estates Specialist: New York

Western Art Director: Dallas, Beverly Hills

World Coins Director: Hong Kong

If you are interested and feel you have the qualifications we
seek, please email your resume and salary history to Experts@HA.com.

We are also seeking to fill the following corporate
positions:

Client Services Representative: Dallas

Currency Cataloger: Dallas

Currency Consignment Director: Dallas

e-Publishing Expert: Dallas

Interns

Marketing Account Executive: Dallas

Operations Assistant: Dallas

PHP Web Developer: Dallas

Web Marketing Specialist: Dallas

WPF Applications Developer: Dallas

If you are interested in applying for one of these Corporate
positions, please apply here.

Marlon Brando's 1954 'Best
Actor' Golden Globe award for his performance in On
the Waterfront is expected to bring $10,000+ to highlight a
never-before-offered selection of his personal property in
Heritage's Entertainment & Music Memorabilia Signature®
Auction March 30. The award is one of two of Brando's Golden
Globes offered — the second one which was won by the actor for
being named World Film Favorite a year later in
1955. For a now unknown reason but in a classic Brando-esque move,
he threw this second award against the wall at his home, breaking
off the top female statuette and scratching the placard — and the
piece was not repaired until decades later. It carries a
pre-auction estimate of $6,000+.

"For having such an incredible impact on American film, very few
personally-owned items of Marlon Brando's ever come to market which
makes this auction a rare opportunity to have something the man
himself touched," said Margaret Barrett, Director of Entertainment
& Music Memorabilia at Heritage. "We're not sure what made
Brando throw his 1955 Golden Globe against the wall, but the move
wasn't out of character for him. He was passionate about everything
he did and to have the chance to bid on and win something he deemed
important is exciting."

"We're honored to assist the families of Glenn Ford and Walter
Matthau to make these treasures available to fans," Barrett said.
"How fun to have something these two extraordinary actors had in
their own homes and lived with on a daily basis."

"The amount of online bidders set in-house records, but we also
worked hard to invite the local community in and we succeeded — our
floor was standing room only," said Ed Beardsley, Vice President of
Fine and Decorative Arts at Heritage. "We also saw a good bit of
interest from beginning collectors, who are realizing that auctions
are approachable and include material in all price points."

Answer this quick question and see how your opinion compares with
your peers.

How do you collect gold coins?
A) I buy bullion gold coins as an
investment
B) I collect one or more gold coin series by
date
C) I collect gold coins by type
D) I buy occasional gold coins but primarily
collect something else
E) I do not collect gold coins

We are now accepting consignments for our June Long Beach
Auction. For a confidential discussion and to get the most for your
rare coins, please call one of our Consignment Directors today at
800-872-6467 ext. 1000.